Author Archives: Jon Wright

Choosing Reference Mixes As engineers we talk a lot about things we have in our toolkits… things like plug-ins, presets, templates, samples, and workflow strategies. But there’s one tool that the pros have that we don’t talk about enough… Reference Mixes. For those who haven’t encountered this term before, the concept of a reference mix…

It’s the Holiday season! So it’s appropriate to write a bit about Holiday mixes. For the past few years without fail I have mixed at least one festive track. Sometimes the projects come to me in June and I’ll crank down the air conditioner, wear a fuzzy sweater, and try to get in the…

Ever had one of those days where you spent an inordinate amount of time on a relatively small task? It might have been because of poor time management. Or because your mind kept jumping from one element of the task to another, causing you to run in mental circles. As engineers, producers, and creators, we’ve…

Last week I wrote about the fact that as mixers it’s often hard to see our own skills progress. We are in the moment-to-moment grind and it sometimes takes someone on the outside to step back and see how far we’ve come. Click HERE to read that post. This week I want to chat about…

After one of my recent Mixing Tutorial videos for MixCoach Member, one of our awesome members mentioned my fast paced workflow and decision making process. He asked how I work so quickly. This got me thinking back on my mixing journey, about how when I first started out, I would get bogged down by very small…

Ever seen one of these before?? Of course you have! Every audio engineer using Pro Tools has maxed out the power of their system at least once… probably more than once… and probably not on purpose. So what can we do about it? Is there a way to avoid seeing those pesky three letters,…

On this episode, we talk about mixing Jazz music and what makes mixing it different than mixing any other genre. Show Notes: Jazz Mixing tips we discuss: Why all snare hits are not created equal (volume). The feel of the mix is more important than the individual notes. Why you shouldn’t necessarily worry about “trendy”…

On this episode, we talk about mixing Bluegrass music. We talk about what makes it different than other genres. Show Notes: Bluegrass Mixing tips we discuss: What are the roots of Bluegrass mixing?? Why is it ok to let things “pop out” a bit in your Bluegrass mix “Less-is-more” approach to Bluegrass, and what NOT…

On this episode, we are going to be taking about the subtle differences in mixing Country music. We are going to talk about what makes it slightly different than other genres. Show Notes: Country Mixing tips: Mixing things is the right order is important. How is mixing modern country different than classic country? What’s the…

We’re in the middle of a series about ear training! Last week I detailed a method of training your ears to hear different frequencies and ranges. Click HERE to check that post out! This week I want to touch on how to train your ears to hear compression and compression induced distortion. Over the thousands…